Methods and system for improving vehicle operation

ABSTRACT

A method and system improving vehicle operation is presented. In one example, the vehicle data is transmitted between a vehicle and a cloud computer. The cloud computer adjusts engine control parameters and the vehicle is operated based on the adjusted engine control parameters.

FIELD

The present description relates to methods and system for improvingvehicle operation during varying driving conditions. The method may beparticularly useful for adjusting parameters of separate vehicle systemsthat share common feedback sources and which do not provide directinformation regarding variables of the separate vehicle systems.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

A vehicle may include an engine control system for improving engineoperation. The engine control system may be divided into severalsubsystems that may or may not be closely related. For example, anengine control system may include a fuel delivery system as well as anair charge estimation and regulation system. Further, the engine controlsystem may also include an ignition system, fuel vapor managementsystem, exhaust emissions system, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)system, valve timing system, and other such systems. The engine system,including each subsystem, may operate based on transfer functions thatattempt to describe device operation as well as on open loop and closedloop commands. The open loop commands may be empirically determinedduring engine testing and stored in memory for use during selectedoperating conditions. The closed loop commands may be based on data thatis collected and fed back to the engine system during vehicle operation.

The engine system may also adapt selected control parameters tocompensate for errors that may be present in device transfer functionsand/or open loop commands. In some examples, the control parameters maynot be directly observable to determine whether or not the controlparameters are converging to desired (e.g., optimal) values. Further,the control parameters may be adapted in response to present operatingconditions without regard to prior operating conditions since the enginesystem has limited capacity to store vehicle data. For example, anengine system may include air and fuel management systems. The engineair amount may be estimated based on a manifold absolute pressure (MAP)sensor or air meter. The engine fuel amount may be estimated from fuelinjection pulse widths. Correction to the air and fuel estimates may bebased on output of an oxygen sensor that has no capacity to directlydistinguish between air system errors and fuel systems errors.Consequently, air system control parameters and fuel system controlparameters may be arbitrarily assigned portions of an air-fuel ratioerror amount. Consequently, air system and fuel system corrections maynot compensate for air system and fuel system errors as is desired.

The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned disadvantagesand have developed a method for a vehicle, comprising: collecting datawithout driver input from a single source that is correlated to tworegulated engine inputs while the vehicle is on a road; processing thedata off-board the vehicle into control adjustments for the tworegulated engine inputs; and operating the vehicle in response to thecontrol adjustments.

By exporting vehicle data to an off-board processing system, it may bepossible to improve adaptation of control parameters such as sensor andactuator transfer functions so that vehicle performance may be improved.For example, an engine exhaust gas oxygen sensor outputs data that maybe related to an engine air charge control system and an engine fuelcontrol system. Vehicle data including oxygen sensor data, air sensors,and fuel injection times may be organized into specific operationallyseparated data groups (e.g., engine starting data, engine stopping data,steady state data, and transient data) that are transmitted to aprocessing unit that is remote from the vehicle. The remote processingunit may process a large group of data that was acquired during varyingoperating conditions to adjust one or more sensor and/or actuatortransfer functions based on the large group of data. The large group ofdata may allow the processing unit to determine if particular errors inthe observed data may be attributed to either the fuel system or the aircharge system. Fuel delivery system control variables are adjustedaccording to errors attributed to the fuel delivery system. Engine aircharge system control variables are adjusted according to errorsattributed to the engine air charge system.

The present description may provide several advantages. In particular,the approach may allow an engine to operate more efficiently. Further,the approach may reduce engine emissions. Further still, the approachmay account for system errors that develop over a length of time.

The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the presentdescription will be readily apparent from the following DetailedDescription when taken alone or in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introducein simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described inthe detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essentialfeatures of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defineduniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description.Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any partof this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages described herein will be more fully understood by readingan example of an embodiment, referred to herein as the DetailedDescription, when taken alone or with reference to the drawings, where:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an engine;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle system in which the engine ofFIG. 1 operates;

FIG. 3 is an example diagram of vehicle data collection organization;and

FIG. 4 is an example flowchart of a method for improving vehicleoperation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present description is related to improving engine controlparameters and operating a vehicle with updated engine controlparameters. In one non-limiting example, the engine may be configured asillustrated in FIG. 1. The engine may be part of a vehicle as is shownin FIG. 2. Engine torque data may be processed on-board a vehicle by avehicle controller while concurrently, the same engine data is processedoff-board the vehicle by a cloud computing system. The off-boardprocessing may include a larger number of constraints and/or parameters,and consequently may be more computation intensive than the on-boardprocessing. The vehicle controller may be configured to perform aroutine to process the engine data on-board the vehicle and determineslopes and/or offset modifiers with which all the data points of anengine torque data set are adjusted. At the same time, the controllermay upload the data to an off-board controller that determinesindependent adjustments for one or more data points in the engine torquedata set. The independent adjustments may be downloaded by the vehiclecontroller and used to further update the engine torque data set. Engineoperations may then be adjusted based on the updated data set. In thisway, by performing some processing on-board and additional processingoff-board, the accuracy of torque control may be improved. FIG. 3 showsa block diagram of how acquired engine data may be organized forprocessing. FIG. 4 shows an example method for improving sensor,actuator, and modeling parameters.

Referring to FIG. 1, internal combustion engine 10, comprising aplurality of cylinders, one cylinder of which is shown in FIG. 1, iscontrolled by electronic engine controller 12. Engine 10 includescombustion chamber 30 and cylinder walls 32 with piston 36 positionedtherein and connected to crankshaft 40. Combustion chamber 30 is showncommunicating with intake manifold 46 and exhaust manifold 48 viarespective intake valve 52 and exhaust valve 54. Each intake and exhaustvalve may be operated by an intake cam 51 and an exhaust cam 53.Alternatively, one or more of the intake and exhaust valves may beoperated by an electromechanically controlled valve coil and armatureassembly. The position of intake cam 51 may be determined by intake camsensor 55. The position of exhaust cam 53 may be determined by exhaustcam sensor 57.

Fuel injector 66 is shown positioned to inject fuel directly intocylinder 30, which is known to those skilled in the art as directinjection. Alternatively, fuel may be injected to an intake port, whichis known to those skilled in the art as port injection. Fuel injector 66delivers liquid fuel in proportion to the pulse width of signal FPW fromcontroller 12. Fuel is delivered to fuel injector 66 by a fuel system(not shown) including a fuel tank, fuel pump, and fuel rail (not shown).Fuel injector 66 is supplied operating current from driver 68 whichresponds to controller 12. Fuel flow through fuel injector 66 may beregulated by controller 12 adjusting fuel pressure and fuel injector ontime.

Intake manifold 46 is shown communicating with optional electronicthrottle 62 which adjusts a position of throttle plate 64 to control airflow from intake boost chamber 44. Air flow past throttle plate 64 maybe regulated by controller 12 adjusting a position of throttle plate 64.Compressor 162 draws air from air intake 42 to supply intake boostchamber 44. Exhaust gases spin turbine 164 which is coupled tocompressor 162. In one example, a low pressure direct injection systemmay be used, where fuel pressure can be raised to approximately 20-30bar. Alternatively, a high pressure, dual stage, fuel system may be usedto generate higher fuel pressures.

Distributorless ignition system 88 provides an ignition spark tocombustion chamber 30 via spark plug 92 in response to controller 12.Universal Exhaust Gas Oxygen (UEGO) sensor 126 is shown coupled toexhaust manifold 48 upstream of turbocharger compressor 164 andcatalytic converter 70. Alternatively, a two-state exhaust gas oxygensensor may be substituted for UEGO sensor 126. Oxygen sensor 126 asingle sensor source that is correlated to two engine actuators (e.g.,fuel injector and a throttle).

Converter 70 can include multiple catalyst bricks, in one example. Inanother example, multiple emission control devices, each with multiplebricks, can be used. Converter 70 can be a three-way type catalyst inone example.

Fuel vapor storage canister 150 contains activated carbon or other knownmedia to temporarily store fuel vapors. Fuel vapors may originate fromthe fuel tank 73, the intake manifold, or other point in the fuelsystem. Valve 149 controls the flow of fuel vapors from fuel tank 73 tofuel vapor storage canister 150. Canister purge control valve 152controls flow of fuel vapors from fuel vapor storage canister 150 tointake manifold 46. Further, passage 153 is supplied fixed densityambient air though passage 155 and mass flow through valve 152 andpassage 153 becomes choked or sonic at pressure ratios less than 0.528.Therefore, pressure ratios across valve 152 and passage 153 are limitedto greater than 0.528 since lower pressure ratios provide no higher flowrates. Fresh air may be drawn into fuel vapor storage canister 150 viavent passage 155. In some examples, a valve may be positioned along ventpassage 155 to control the flow of fresh air into fuel vapor storagecanister 150. Hydrocarbon sensor 159 provides an indication of an amountof hydrocarbons stored in fuel vapor storage canister 150.

Fuel vapor storage canister 150 can also purge fuel vapors to air intake42 via venturi 173. When compressor 162 produces a positive pressure inboost chamber 44, venturi control valve 157 can be partially or fullyopened or modulated to allow air to flow from boost chamber 44 throughventuri 173 and into air intake 42. A pressure drop occurs in venturi173 creating a low pressure region when air flows through venturi 173from compressor 162. Lower pressure at venturi 173 induces flow fromfuel vapor storage canister 150 to venturi 173 when canister venturicontrol valve 154 is at least partially open. The pressure drop atventuri 173 is related to the venturi design and the velocity of airflow through the venturi. In one example, valves 154 and 157 are set toan open state when flow from the fuel vapor storage canister 150 to theair intake 42 is desired. A pressure ratio of less than 0.528 acrossventuri 173 or valve 157 can provide sonic velocity of air throughventuri 173 and valve 62. In one example, the pressure ratio acrossventuri 173 and valve 157 is limited to greater than 0.528 because lowerpressure ratios may provide smaller increases in mass flow rate as thedensity in boost chamber 44 is increased.

Canister vacuum control valve 152 can be opened so that there is flowfrom fuel vapor storage canister 150 to intake manifold 46 and airintake 42 while there is or is not flow from fuel vapor storage canister150 to venturi 173. For example, when intake manifold pressure isslightly below atmospheric pressure, a small amount of flow to theintake manifold 46 may be generated. At the same time, venturi 173 maydraw flow from fuel vapor storage canister 150.

Controller 12 is shown in FIG. 1 as a conventional microcomputerincluding: microprocessor unit 102, input/output ports 104, read-onlymemory 106, random access memory 108, keep alive memory 110, and aconventional data bus. Controller 12 is shown receiving various signalsfrom sensors coupled to engine 10, in addition to those signalspreviously discussed, including: engine coolant temperature (ECT) fromtemperature sensor 112 coupled to cooling sleeve 114; a position sensor134 coupled to an accelerator pedal 130 for sensing force applied byfoot 132; a measurement of engine manifold absolute pressure (MAP) frompressure sensor 122 coupled to intake manifold 46; a measurement ofboost pressure from pressure sensor 123; a measurement of air massentering the engine from sensor 120; and a measurement of throttleposition from a sensor 5. Barometric pressure may also be sensed (sensornot shown) for processing by controller 12. In a preferred aspect of thepresent description, engine position sensor 118 produces a predeterminednumber of equally spaced pulses every revolution of the crankshaft fromwhich engine speed (RPM) can be determined.

In some embodiments, the engine may be coupled to an electricmotor/battery system in a hybrid vehicle. The hybrid vehicle may have aparallel configuration, series configuration, or variation orcombinations thereof. Further, in some embodiments, other engineconfigurations may be employed, for example a diesel engine.

During operation, each cylinder within engine 10 typically undergoes afour stroke cycle: the cycle includes the intake stroke, compressionstroke, expansion stroke, and exhaust stroke. During the intake stroke,generally, the exhaust valve 54 closes and intake valve 52 opens. Air isintroduced into combustion chamber 30 via intake manifold 46, and piston36 moves to the bottom of the cylinder so as to increase the volumewithin combustion chamber 30. The position at which piston 36 is nearthe bottom of the cylinder and at the end of its stroke (e.g. whencombustion chamber 30 is at its largest volume) is typically referred toby those of skill in the art as bottom dead center (BDC). During thecompression stroke, intake valve 52 and exhaust valve 54 are closed.Piston 36 moves toward the cylinder head so as to compress the airwithin combustion chamber 30. The point at which piston 36 is at the endof its stroke and closest to the cylinder head (e.g. when combustionchamber 30 is at its smallest volume) is typically referred to by thoseof skill in the art as top dead center (TDC). In a process hereinafterreferred to as injection, fuel is introduced into the combustionchamber. In a process hereinafter referred to as ignition, the injectedfuel is ignited by known ignition means such as spark plug 92, resultingin combustion. During the expansion stroke, the expanding gases pushpiston 36 back to BDC. Crankshaft 40 converts piston movement into arotational torque of the rotary shaft. Finally, during the exhauststroke, the exhaust valve 54 opens to release the combusted air-fuelmixture to exhaust manifold 48 and the piston returns to TDC. Note thatthe above is shown merely as an example, and that intake and exhaustvalve opening and/or closing timings may vary, such as to providepositive or negative valve overlap, late intake valve closing, orvarious other examples.

Each of the sensors and/or actuator shown in FIG. 1 may include atransfer function that describes operation of the sensor or actuator.For example, a fuel injector includes a transfer function that describesfuel flow through the fuel injector based on fuel pressure and fuelinjector on time. An air meter includes a transfer function that relatesair flow through the air meter to a voltage output from the air meter.Further, engine volumetric efficiency and engine air flow may bedescribed via models and or transfer functions stored in controllermemory.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of an example system for adjusting engineand fuel system control variables. The system includes a vehicle 202 inwhich engine 10 and controller 12 may be positioned. Vehicle 202 maytransmit data from sensors, actuators, control models to off-boardprocessing unit 213 via antenna 209. Data may be transmitted tosatellite 215 or infrastructure 219 (e.g., a tower).

In the depicted example, off-board processing unit 213 is a cloudcomputing system that is communicatively coupled to the on-board vehiclecontrol system. For example, the control systems may be coupled viawireless communication 250 which can be Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, any type ofcellular service or any generic wireless data transfer protocol. Assuch, this connectivity where the vehicle data is uploaded, alsoreferred to as the “cloud”, may be a service such as “AirbiquityService”, an alternate commercial service or a private server where thedata is stored and then acted upon by optimization algorithms. Thealgorithms may process the data from a single vehicle, a family ofengines, a family of powertrains, or a combination thereof. Thealgorithms may further take into account the system limitations, produceair-fuel transfer function modifiers that are properly constrained, andsend them back to the vehicle where they are applied.

Control parameters determined from processing data at processing unit213 may be transmitted to vehicle 202 via satellite 215 and/orinfrastructure 219. Data may be transmitted bi-directionally betweenvehicle 202 and processing unit 213. Additionally, the off boardprocessor 213 may be owned and operated by a vehicle manufacturer,whereas vehicle 202 may be owned and operated by a private party otherthan the vehicle manufacturer. Further, off board processor 213 mayprocess data for a plurality of vehicles owned by a plurality ofdifferent owners.

Therein, the vehicle control system 12 may adjust an engine air-fueldata set using a computation model that determines torque adjustmentslopes and/or offset modifiers that are applied to all data points inthe air-fuel data set, en masse. For example, each and every data pointof the data set may be adjusted in the same manner, with the samemodifier. In parallel, the inputs from the various sensors and theon-board torque adjustments may be uploaded to an off-board processor,such as a cloud computing system communicatively coupled to the on-boardcontrol system, wherein the engine air-fuel data may be analyzed in amore computation intensive manner using a computation model having alarger number of constraints and parameters. The off-board processor mayadjust one or more individual data points independently. For example,only some of the data points of the data set may be adjusted, and theadjustments of the affected data points may be different from, andindependent of each other.

Thus, the system of FIGS. 1 and 2 provides for a vehicle performanceimprovement system, comprising: a vehicle including an engine; a dataprocessing unit external from the vehicle; and a controller includingexecutable instructions stored in non-transitory memory to transmit datafrom a single source that is correlated to two engine control devices,the data transmitted to the data processing unit external from thevehicle, and additional executable instructions for receiving revisedengine actuator transfer functions.

In some examples, the vehicle performance improvement system furthercomprises additional executable instructions for receiving revisedengine sensor transfer functions. The vehicle performance improvementsystem includes where the vehicle is owned by a private party other thana vehicle manufacturer, and where the data processing unit external fromthe vehicle is owned by the vehicle manufacturer. The vehicleperformance improvement system further comprises additional executableinstructions for parsing steady state data and transient data from thesingle source, and where the single source is an exhaust gas sensor. Thevehicle performance improvement system also further comprises additionalexecutable instructions for separating engine starting data and enginestopping data from the single source, and where the single source is anexhaust gas sensor. The vehicle performance improvement system furthercomprises a transmitter and a receiver within the vehicle.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram of one way to organize vehicledata for remote processing is shown. The process and functionalityillustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 3 may be stored as executableinstructions in non-transitory memory of controller 12. Block diagram300 includes sensors 301 and actuators 303. Sensors 301 may be compriseany sensor shown in FIG. 1 as well as other sensors (e.g., fuel pressuresensor, vehicle speed sensor, etc.). Actuators 303 may be comprise anyactuator shown in FIG. 1 as well as other actuators (e.g., fuel pump,vacuum pump, etc.). Data from sensors 301 and actuators 303 may be inputto models 302 and real-time data buffer memory 304. Models 302 mayinclude engine volumetric efficiency models, transfer functions (e.g.,fuel injector fuel flow transfer functions), transient fuel models,engine torque estimation models, fuel vapor storage models, engineexhaust temperature models, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) models, andother engine related models. On-board measurements of air-fuel ratiodeviations (measured), controller corrections (commanded) and the sensorand actuator signals and conditions (temperatures, pressures) associatedwith each data point may captured and stored to memory. In systems wheremultiple injection systems are involved, data regarding each fuel systemincluding the portion of fuel being delivered by each injection system.Values of any variables and adaptive parameters affecting the transferfunction for air and fuel sensors and actuators may be captured andstored to memory for subsequent upload to the cloud.

Real-time data buffer memory 304 may store sensor, actuator, and modeldata for a predetermined number of sampling events. For example, memory304 may include 500 samples of a group of data representing 50 sensors,actuators, and/or model variables. The plurality of sensors, actuators,and model variables may be simultaneously sampled via sample and holdcircuitry. The samples may be stored once a second so that 10 seconds ofdata from 50 sensor, actuators, and model variables are stored in the500 samples. Of course, other sampling intervals, number of samples,number of sensors, actuators, and variables are also possible. In oneexample, real time data buffer 304 is a first in—first out data buffer.

The data buffer may be arranged to hold a predetermined number of samplesets, where each sample set is comprised of samples from selectedsensors, actuators, and model variables. When a new sample set entersthe data buffer, other sample sets are pushed toward the end of the databuffer and the last sample set is over written and removed from the databuffer. In this way, a continuous stream of data may be held incontroller memory.

Data may be directed from the real-time data buffer to other areas ofmemory based on selected conditions. In particular, data may be storedin a portion of memory allocated for data that captures error conditionsthat exceed a threshold error amount at memory 308. For example,selected variables (e.g., fuel pulse width, fuel pressure, engine airamount, MAP sensor) may be stored when an exhaust gas based engineair-fuel ratio as estimated from an exhaust gas oxygen sensor exceeds athreshold air-fuel ratio from a desired engine air-fuel ratio. Otherexamples of stored error data may include but are not limited to fuelvapor storage amount estimate, engine air charge estimate, EGR error,ignition timing error, and injected fuel amount or mass. The storederror data may include data sets captured during error conditions over avariety of engine operating conditions. For example, the stored errordata may include steady-state (e.g., constant engine speed and load)data captured at 0.3 load and 1500 RPM as well as transient datacaptured at 2500 RPM and a load of 0.3-0.5. Grouping engine error datain to a specific section of memory allows controller 12 to transmit onlyengine error data if desired so that data processing time and datatransmission time may be reduced. Further, data processing may betargeted to engine operating conditions that may offer the most benefitfor the least amount of processing and transmission time.

Selected data acquired during engine stopping may be stored at memory310. Example engine stopping data may include but is not limited toengine stopping position, fuel pressure, engine air-fuel ratio asdetermined from an oxygen sensor, engine air amount, and engine speed.Grouping engine stopping data into a specific section of memory allowscontroller 12 to transmit only engine stopping data if desired so thatdata processing time and data transmission time may be reduced.

Selected data acquired during engine starting may be stored at memory312. Example engine starting data may include but is not limited toengine cranking time, fuel pressure, engine air-fuel ratio as determinedfrom an oxygen sensor, engine air amount, and engine speed. Groupingengine starting data into a specific section of memory allows controller12 to transmit only engine starting data if desired so that dataprocessing time and data transmission time may be reduced.

Selected data acquired during selected engine operating conditions(e.g., specific engine speed and load conditions) may be stored atmemory 314. Example engine data may include but is not limited to enginetemperature, fuel pressure, engine air-fuel ratio as determined from anoxygen sensor, engine air amount, and engine speed. Grouping engine datafrom specific engine operating conditions into a specific section ofmemory allows controller 12 to transmit only engine data acquired duringselected operating conditions if desired so that data processing timeand data transmission time may be reduced.

Selected data acquired during selected conditions where sensor/actuatordata error may be expected to be least or greatest depending on expectedsensor/actuator performance. For example, engine data from selectedsensors, actuators, and models may be stored in memory 316 when MAPsensor error is expected to be less than a threshold error amount. Bygrouping engine data in response to sensor and actuator errors, it maybe possible to capture data that is more accurate than during otherconditions so that transfer functions and model parameters may beupdated with greater accuracy.

Data stored in memory may be transmitted to off-board processor 213 viadata transmission scheduler 306. In one example, transmission schedulemay transmit data to off-board processor 213 when error data is storedin memory 308. Data transmission scheduler 306 may also transmit data tooff-board processor 213 at predetermined intervals (e.g., every 10,000miles or every 100 operating hours). Data scheduler 306 may also becommanded by off-board processor 213 to acquire data at specific timesand/or conditions.

In this way, data from a vehicle transmitted to an off-board processormay be organized to conserve processing resources. Further, dataacquisition resources may be reserved for selected conditions so thatother operations may be performed without delay.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flowchart of a method for adjustingparameters of vehicle systems is shown. The method of FIG. 4 may bestored as executable instructions in non-transitory memory in the systemillustrated in FIG. 1. The method of FIG. 4 may be executed withoutinput from the vehicle driver while the vehicle is traveling on a road.

At 402, method 400 judges whether or not conditions are present forgathering vehicle data for off-board (e.g., external to the vehicle)processing. Conditions may include but are not limited to selectedengine operating conditions (e.g., specific engine temperature,barometric pressure, engine speed, engine load, etc.). Further,conditions may include operating conditions where sensors and data havea high signal to noise ratio. In one example, controller 12 of FIG. 1recognizes near steady speed, torque, and load conditions. Thecontroller may proceed to take a snap shot of data and parameters at therecognized conditions for storage in a packet of information that may besubsequently uploaded to the cloud. If method 400 judges that conditionsare present for gathering vehicle data, the answer is yes and method 400proceeds to 404. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 proceeds toexit.

At 404, method 400 judges whether or not selected steady stateconditions are present to acquire vehicle, engine, and fuel system data.Steady state conditions may include vehicle conditions (e.g.,substantially constant vehicle speed (±3 KPH)), engine conditions (e.g.,substantially constant engine speed (±100 RPM), substantially constantengine load (±0.05 load), substantially constant throttle position (±3degrees)), or fuel system conditions (e.g., substantially constant fuelpressure (e.g., ±20 KPA). If method 400 judges that selected steadystate conditions are present, the answer is yes and method 400 proceedsto 406. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 proceeds to 408.

At 406, method 400 schedules and acquires (e.g., stores to memory)selected data at selected sample intervals. For example, a set of sampledata comprised of engine speed, engine air amount or mass, EGR amount,fuel vapor flow, ignition timing, engine injected fuel amount or mass,MAP, engine volumetric efficiency, engine air-fuel ratio as determinedfrom an oxygen sensor, and fuel pressure are stored to memory every 50ms. A predetermined number data sample sets may be stored to memory(e.g., 500 sample sets). Method 400 proceeds to 408 after data setsampling has been scheduled.

At 408, method 400 judges whether or not selected transient conditionsare present to store vehicle, engine, and fuel system data. Transientconditions may include vehicle conditions (e.g., a change in vehiclespeed greater than a threshold vehicle speed (±5 KPH/sec)), engineconditions (e.g., a change in engine speed (±100 RPM/sec), change inengine load (±0.1/sec load), change in throttle position (±10degrees/sec)), or fuel system conditions (e.g., change in fuel pressure(e.g., ±20 KPA/sec). If method 400 judges that selected transientconditions are present, the answer is yes and method 400 proceeds to410. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 proceeds to 412.

At 410, method 400 acquires (e.g., stores to memory) selected data atselected sample intervals. For example, a set of sample data comprisedof engine speed, engine air amount, engine injected fuel amount, MAP,engine volumetric efficiency, engine air-fuel ratio as determined froman oxygen sensor, and fuel pressure are stored to memory every 1 ms. Apredetermined number data sample sets may be stored to memory (e.g.,5000 sample sets). In one example, vehicle, engine, and fuel system datais stored to a data buffer as described in FIG. 3 so that apredetermined number of sample data sets occurring before the transientcondition and after the transient condition may be stored to memory. Inthis way, conditions leading up to and after the transient event may bestored to memory. Method 400 proceeds to 412 after data set storage tomemory has been scheduled.

At 412, method 400 judges whether or not selected error conditions arepresent to store vehicle, engine, and fuel system data. Error conditionsmay include vehicle error conditions (e.g., a vehicle speed deviatingfrom a desired vehicle speed (e.g., an error in vehicle speed greaterthan ±2 KPH)), engine conditions (e.g., an error between desired engineair-fuel ratio and actual engine air-fuel ratio greater than a thresholderror amount (e.g., ±0.06 air-fuel ratio), an error between engine loadand desired engine load (e.g., ±0.06 load), an error between throttleposition and desired throttle position (e.g., ±5 degrees/)), or fuelsystem error conditions (e.g., an error between fuel pressure anddesired fuel pressure (e.g., ±10 KPA). If method 400 judges thatselected error conditions are present, the answer is yes and method 400proceeds to 414. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 proceeds to416.

At 414, method 400 acquires (e.g., stores to memory) selected data atselected sample intervals. For example, a set of sample data comprisedof engine speed, engine air amount, engine injected fuel amount, MAP,engine volumetric efficiency, engine air-fuel ratio as determined froman oxygen sensor, engine air-fuel ratio error, and fuel pressure arestored to memory every 1 ms. A predetermined number data sample sets maybe stored to memory (e.g., 5000 sample sets). In one example, vehicle,engine, and fuel system data is stored to a data buffer as described inFIG. 3 so that a predetermined number of sample data sets occurringbefore the error condition and after the error condition may be storedto memory. In this way, conditions leading up to and after the errorevent may be stored to memory. Method 400 proceeds to 416 after data setstorage to memory has been scheduled.

At 416, method 400 judges whether or not selected engine startingconditions are present to store vehicle data. Engine starting conditionsmay include but are not limited to time since engine stop, time sinceengine start, change in MAP, engine speed, engine load, and otherconditions indicative of engine starting. If method 400 judges thatselected engine starting conditions are present, the answer is yes andmethod 400 proceeds to 418. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400proceeds to 420.

At 418, method 400 acquires (e.g., stores to memory) selected data atselected sample intervals. For example, a set of sample data comprisedof engine speed, engine air amount, engine injected fuel amount, MAP,engine volumetric efficiency, engine air-fuel ratio as determined froman oxygen sensor, and fuel pressure are stored to memory every 1 msduring an engine start. Method 400 proceeds to 420 after data setstorage to memory has been scheduled.

At 420, method 400 judges whether or not selected engine stoppingconditions are present to store vehicle data. Engine stopping conditionsmay include time since an engine stop request, engine speed less than athreshold engine speed, a change in MAP, engine load, and otherconditions indicative of engine stopping. If method 400 judges thatselected engine stopping conditions are present, the answer is yes andmethod 400 proceeds to 422. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400proceeds to 424.

At 422, method 400 acquires (e.g., stores to memory) selected data atselected sample intervals. For example, a set of sample data comprisedof engine speed, engine air amount, engine injected fuel amount, MAP,engine volumetric efficiency, engine air-fuel ratio as determined froman oxygen sensor, and fuel pressure are stored to memory every 1 msduring an engine stop. Method 400 proceeds to 424 after data set storageto memory has been scheduled.

At 424, method 400 judges whether or not selected sensor and/or actuatorconditions are present to store vehicle data. Sensor and/or actuatorconditions may include but are not limited to conditions when sensorand/or actuator data is expected to include less than a threshold amountof error based on sensor and/or actuator specifications. If method 400judges that selected sensor and/or actuator conditions are present, theanswer is yes and method 400 proceeds to 426. Otherwise, the answer isno and method 400 proceeds to 428.

At 426, method 400 acquires (e.g., stores to memory) selected data atselected sample intervals. For example, a set of sample data comprisedof engine speed, engine air amount, engine injected fuel amount, MAP,engine volumetric efficiency, engine air-fuel ratio as determined froman oxygen sensor, ignition timing, EGR amount, fuel vapor flow, and fuelpressure are stored to memory every 1 ms during an engine start. Method400 proceeds to 428 after data set storage to memory has been scheduled.

At 428, a data transmission scheduler as described in FIG. 3 judgeswhether or not to transmit data to an off board processor. The datascheduler may transmit data in response to predetermined conditions orin response to specific events. For example, the data scheduler maytransmit data after a predetermined number of miles is traveled, timesince the vehicle was new, in response to an error condition, or inresponse to a request from the off board processor. If method 400 judgesconditions are present to transmit data, the answer is yes and method400 proceeds to 430. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 exits.

At 430, method 400 processes sensor, actuator, and model data fromvehicle, engine, and fuel systems. In one example, method 400 processesdata to correct fuel system and air charge system errors in response toan oxygen sensor that outputs data that may be responsive to both thefuel delivery system and the air charge system. Specifically, a staticmodel of the engine including a base calibration that matches thecalibration structure programmed into the vehicle. The revisedcalibration is determined by calculating an expected air-fuel ratioerror for each data point of vehicle data. For example, vehicle data areinput to the static engine model in the off board processor and the offboard processor outputs modeled air-fuel error. The air fuel ratio errorin the static engine model is determined by comparing the expectedair-fuel error determined by the off board processor to the air-fuelerror reported by the vehicle. For example, the vehicle air-fuel erroris subtracted from the modeled air-fuel error to determine error in thestatic engine model. The engine model calibration parameters are thenadjusted to reduce the modeling error. The revised vehicle calibrationis based on the adjusted engine model calibration. The adjustment ofvehicle calibration parameters may include weighing the air-fuel errorsat different operating points differently based on the density (e.g.,number of data points) of vehicle data to reduce the possibility ofover-fitting vehicle operating conditions where there are a greaternumber of data points. Further, the adjustment of vehicle calibrationparameters may include use of a priori information to weigh selectedengine operating conditions more than other engine operating conditions.Method 400 proceeds to 432 after vehicle, engine, and fuel system datais processed.

At 432, method 400 adjusts actuator parameters in response to dataprocessed at 430. In one example, actuator transfer functions areadjusted in response to processed data. For example, if an engine airamount is less than expected at a specified throttle position, thethrottle position transfer function may be adjusted so that an estimateof air flow through the throttle is reduced at a particular throttleposition. Transfer functions of any actuator described in FIG. 1 may beadjusted in a similar manner. Method 400 proceeds to 434 after actuatorparameters are adjusted.

At 434, method 400 adjusts sensor parameters in response to dataprocessed at 430. In one example, sensor transfer functions are adjustedin response to processed data. For example, if an engine air fuel ratiois greater than expected at specified air meter output value, the airmeter transfer function may be adjusted so that an estimate of air flowthrough the air meter is greater than previously indicated by the airmeter transfer function at the particular air meter output. Transferfunctions of any sensor described in FIG. 1 may be adjusted in a similarmanner. Method 400 proceeds to 436 after sensor parameters are adjusted.

At 436, method 400 adjusts model parameters in response to dataprocessed at 430. In one example, an inducted engine air amount modelparameters are adjusted in response to processed data. For example, ifan engine air fuel ratio is greater than expected at specified engineoperating condition, the engine air amount model transfer function maybe adjusted so that an estimate of air flow through the engine isgreater than previously indicated by the engine air amount model at theparticular engine operating conditions. Models having parameters thatmay be adapted include but are not limited to an engine air amountmodel, exhaust temperature models, transient fuel models, engine torquemodel, engine emissions model, and other vehicle and engine models.Method 400 proceeds to 438 after sensor parameters are adjusted.

At 438, method 400 transmits the adjusted parameters from the off boardprocessor to the vehicle controller. The off board processor maytransmit updated parameters via satellite or infrastructure. Method 400proceeds to 440 after vehicle, engine, and fuel system parameters aretransmitted to the vehicle controller.

At 440, method 400 operates the vehicle in response to updatedparameters. For example, if the fuel injector transfer function wasadjusted by the off board processor, fuel injector activation time isadjusted in response to the revised transfer function. Similarly, modelsand sensors are interpreted and used with the revised parameters so asto update model and sensor output values. Method 400 proceeds to exitafter the vehicle is operated in response to updated parameters.

Thus, the method of FIG. 4 provides for a method for a vehicle,comprising: collecting data without driver input from a single sourcethat is correlated with two regulated engine inputs while the vehicle ison a road; processing the data off-board the vehicle into controladjustments for the two regulated engine inputs; and operating thevehicle in response to the control adjustments. The method includeswhere the single source is an exhaust gas oxygen sensor. The method alsoincludes where the first of the two regulated inputs is a fuel massquantity, and where the second of the two regulated inputs is an airmass quantity.

In some examples, the method includes where the control adjustmentsinclude adjustments to two transfer functions of two actuators. Themethod also includes where a first actuator of the two actuators is athrottle, and where the second actuator is a fuel injector. The methodincludes where the control adjustments include adjustments to anaccelerator pedal position transfer function and an air sensor. Themethod includes where the data is processed in a computer that processesdata from a plurality of vehicles traveling on the road, and where thevehicle is not owned by a vehicle manufacturer.

The method of FIG. 4 also provides for a method for a vehicle,comprising: collecting air-fuel data, fuel injection data, air amountdata in a vehicle controller; transmitting the air-fuel data, fuelinjection data, air amount data to a remote computer, the remotecomputer adjusting a control parameter in response to the air-fuel data,fuel injection data, and air amount data, the remote computer processingdata from a plurality of vehicles; and operating the vehicle in responseto the control parameter.

In some examples, the method includes where the control parameter is anengine air amount control parameter. The method includes where theengine air amount parameter is a throttle transfer function. The methodincludes where the engine air amount parameter is an air amount sensortransfer function. The method includes where the engine air amountparameter is an engine volumetric efficiency related transfer function.The method includes where the air-fuel data, fuel injector data, and airamount data is separated into steady state data and transient data. Themethod includes where the air-fuel data, fuel injector data, and airamount data is separated into engine stopping data and engine startingdata.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, routinesdescribed in FIG. 4 may represent one or more of any number ofprocessing strategies such as event-driven, interrupt-driven,multi-tasking, multi-threading, and the like. As such, various steps orfunctions illustrated may be performed in the sequence illustrated, inparallel, or in some cases omitted. Likewise, the order of processing isnot necessarily required to achieve the objects, features, andadvantages described herein, but is provided for ease of illustrationand description. Although not explicitly illustrated, one of ordinaryskill in the art will recognize that one or more of the illustratedsteps or functions may be repeatedly performed depending on theparticular strategy being used.

This concludes the description. The reading of it by those skilled inthe art would bring to mind many alterations and modifications withoutdeparting from the spirit and the scope of the description. For example,I3, I4, I5, V6, V8, V10, and V12 engines operating in natural gas,gasoline, diesel, or alternative fuel configurations could use thepresent description to advantage.

1. A method for a vehicle, comprising: collecting data from a sensoron-board the vehicle when sensor data error is expected to be less thana threshold error amount without driver input from a source that iscorrelated with two regulated engine inputs while the vehicle is on aroad; processing the data off-board the vehicle into control adjustmentsfor the two regulated engine inputs; and operating the vehicle inresponse to the control adjustments.
 2. The method of claim 1, where thesensor is an exhaust gas oxygen sensor, and further comprising groupingthe sensor data into memory allocated for low sensor error data, thememory apart from memory storing groups of other vehicle data.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, where a first of the two regulated engine inputs is afuel mass quantity, and where a second of the two regulated engineinputs is an air mass quantity, and further comprising transmitting onlythe sensor data to an off-board processor.
 4. The method of claim 1,where the control adjustments include adjustments to two transferfunctions of two actuators.
 5. The method of claim 4, where a firstactuator of the two actuators is a throttle, and where a second actuatoris a fuel injector.
 6. The method of claim 1, where the controladjustments include adjustments to an accelerator pedal positiontransfer function and an air sensor.
 7. The method of claim 1, where thedata is processed in a computer that processes data from a plurality ofvehicles traveling on the road, and where the vehicle is not owned by avehicle manufacturer. 8-14. (canceled)
 15. A vehicle performanceimprovement system, comprising: a vehicle including an engine; a dataprocessing unit external from the vehicle; and a controller includingexecutable instructions stored in non-transitory memory to collect andstore transient vehicle data, steady state vehicle data, and error datainto separate memory areas allocated for the transient vehicle data,steady state vehicle data, and error data, transmitting the transientvehicle data, steady state vehicle data, and error data to the dataprocessing unit external from the vehicle.
 16. The vehicle performanceimprovement system of claim 15, further comprising additional executableinstructions for receiving revised engine sensor transfer functions forengine control devices that include a fuel injector and an air masssensor.
 17. The vehicle performance improvement system of claim 15,where the vehicle is owned by a private party other than a vehiclemanufacturer, and where the data processing unit external from thevehicle is owned by the vehicle manufacturer.
 18. The vehicleperformance improvement system of claim 15, further comprisingadditional executable instructions for a transmission scheduler totransmit the error data when the error data is stored to memory.
 19. Thevehicle performance improvement system of claim 15, further comprisingstoring the transient vehicle data, steady state vehicle data, and errordata to a real-time data buffer before storing the transient vehicledata, steady state vehicle data, and error data in the memory areasallocated for the transient vehicle data, steady state vehicle data, anderror data.
 20. The vehicle performance improvement system of claim 15,further comprising a transmitter and a receiver within the vehicle.